Is Block Talent Good?

[Kampfkeks 0]

Hey everybody,

I have a question I tried to find an answer to, but I seem to be the only one not to see the response, because i couldn't find anywhere a thread to this topic. I was wondering why Block is considered a good talent choice. The streamers I watch think it is a viable choice, if there are no fast autoattackers on the enemy team, but to me it feels, there are always better options on lvl 1. I agree Block can be useful against Butcher or Sgt, because their attack speed is slow and they deal a lot of dmg, but I dont see the utility against e.g. Valla, Raynor or Illidan. Plus the charge is not only consumed by the assassins, but can also be consumed by a tank or support thus not delivering any value. For example Arthas, who is considered to have the best Block talent in the game, has its Frost Presence, which is imo way better than Block. Same applies to other tanks.

So, I hope I described accurately my worries and thanks for your feedback!

Kampfkeks

[positiv2 952]

Block's power depends on the hero you are playing. Unless I missed any, there are 6 heroes with Block - Kerrigan, Leoric, Muradin, Sonya, The Butcher and Thrall.

I would not recommend picking Block when playing as Kerrigan, as it does not provide much use for her role.  When playing as Sonya, it is Overshadowed by War Paint as a sustain talent. The reason I would not recommend Block for The Butcher is a combination of the two aforementioned reasons. 

As for the remaining heroes, its power relies heavily on the opposing team's composition and as such is fairly situational.

So, Block does not provide insane value, but is not trash either, and can be picked to counter specific heroes or compositions, provided you play heroes that can benefit from it.

[Kampfkeks 0]

Well I would include heroes with improved Block like Arthas, Johannah and Morales; Brightwing provides Block and ETC can provide (Kharazim also has his Earth Ally, but its not just charges).

No, I'm not saying it's completely useless, I'd say it's bottom Tier 2. If we take Valla lvl. 20 without Manticore or Rancore she deals 296 dmg per basic attack at maximum hatred. For a Block let's say it's 75%. That means you block 222 dmg every 5 seconds. Valla's dps at lvl. 20 is 495, so 2472 dmg in 5 sec, which means you dont even block 10% of her dmg output. And that's also only if you block one of her basic attacks and not one of the tanks or supports. If we take a talent like Regeneration Master, which in no way is an op talent, just a solid one, we regenerate in this 5 sec. 150 health plus the added benefit outside of combat and the increased tankiness at the quest completion. My question is then; when already a solid talent can be considered better than Block, which are the moments you pick it? I agree, versus a Butcher or Illidan it makes sense because you deny them healing, vs a Sgt. you dont take so much dmg when you try to approach her (when poke as Ming or Chromie is absent), but what are other situations you'd pick it? (For Morales it makes sense to not die immediately when she's dived.)

Thanks again, Kampfkeks

[stuyjcp 3]

The situation illustrated in your Valla example is uncommon at most levels of play. Letting a Valla attack the same target for 5 seconds should never be allowed. You will usually not see Valla hit more than roughly 6 times on the same target before she dies, runs, the target runs, etc. 2 of those 6 will be mitigated by 75%, so it'll be the equivalent of half an auto hitting you rather than 2 full autos. Thus, 6 becomes 4.5, which is 25% less damage taken from her auto attacks over that period and 25% less healing from Tempered by Discipline if she took that talent.

I am fairly certain that the devs are considering changes to the functionality of Block. The more fast attacking heroes are released, the more niche Block becomes.